Key battles

Carlos Tévez v Carles Puyol

Tévez went almost unnoticed at the Nou Camp but he more than made amends for that performance last night with a tireless display of running. The Argentinian hounded Barcelona’s defenders whenever they had the ball and he never gave Puyol, who missed the first leg through suspension, a moment’s respite. A lot had been made of Rooney’s absence, but the England forward was barely missed with Tévez never shirking. Puyol was caught early in the match by a late tackle from Tévez and it set the tone for an intriguing battle between the two.

Key battles

Owen Hargreaves v Andrés Iniesta

Eyebrows were raised when Sir Alex Ferguson again opted to deploy Hargreaves at right back, rather than in midfield, but it proved a sound decision. Iniesta was one of Barcelona’s most impressive players at the Nou Camp, but other than once giving Hargreaves the slip in the first half, the Spaniard was virtually anonymous. Hargreaves took to his task with a tenacity that Iniesta could not match and the longer the game went on, the more frustrated the Barcelona player became, so it was no surprise to see him make way for Henry after an hour.

How Manchester United rated

Average rating 6.9

6 Edwin van der Sar

His kicking, which was dreadful in Barcelona, was again a cause for concern and he was spared by Evra after spilling Messi’s cross in front of the onrushing Eto’o, although he made a good save to thwart Messi.

7 Owen Hargreaves

Asked to fill in at right back again and performed admirably, snuffing out the threat posed by Iniesta and offering support to Nani going forward. Always looked solid and dealt well with Henry when he came on.

7 Rio Ferdinand

Accidentally kicked a steward at Stamford Bridge on Saturday after losing his head on the pitch, but this was the England defender at his composed best. Cool, calm and collected, he never put a foot wrong.

7 Wes Brown

Had a rough time of it in Barcelona, but despite looking shaky early on, he grew in confidence as the match progressed and was a pillar of strength alongside Ferdinand. A huge night for the England defender.

7 Patrice Evra

Got forward when he could, exposing the space left by Messi’s refusal to track back, and coped manfully with the threat posed by the silky Argentinian. Zambrotta, in particular, struggled when he attacked.

7 Nani

Spurned a terrific chance to put United 2-0 up when he rose above Puyol and Abidal but glanced his header wide when a firmer touch would probably have resulted in a goal. Kept possession well and ran tirelessly.

7 Michael Carrick

Tidy in the tackle and pinpoint with his passing, denying Barcelona’s creative players the time to settle on the ball. Made a great tackle on Messi in the 75th minute to clear the danger.

7 Paul Scholes

Almost conceded a penalty after taking down Messi just outside the area after 30 seconds, but regained his composure to produce an exemplary display that was capped by a stunning strike.

8 Park Ji Sung

Question marks may have surrounded his inclusion, but the South Korean was United’s best player, shooting narrowly wide, delivering a fine cross from which Nani might have scored and working tirelessly.

7 Carlos Tévez

Never stopped running and showed the cunning to match. Puyol and Milito were never given a minute’s rest and Wayne Rooney was hardly missed. The Argentinian was denied by Valdés in the 57th minute.

6 Cristiano Ronaldo

Showed terrific vision to tee up Park in the 21st minute and had a header cleared off the line by Puyol. The Portuguese has been accused of failing to release the ball early, but this was a selfless display.

Substitutes

Ryan Giggs (for Nani, 76min), Darren Fletcher (for Scholes, 76), Mikaël Silvestre (for Evra, 90)

Shots on Target Man Utd 2, Barcelona 3

Shots off Target 5, 4

Blocked Shots 1,7

Corners 5,4

Fouls 18,12

Offsides 4,1

Yellow Cards 2,3

Red Cards 0, 0

Passing Success 71.6%, 81.4%

Tackles 32, 25

Tackles Success 65.6, 64

Possession 37.4, 62.4

Territorial Advantage 52.5, 47.5

How Barcelona rated

Average rating 5.4

5 VÍctor Valdés

Could do nothing about Scholes’s goal, but the goalkeeper looked unconvincing for most of the evening, flapping at the occasional cross and almost allowing Tévez in during the first half with a loose pass.

5 Gianluca Zambrotta

It was his suicidal pass from which Scholes scored and the Italy right back had a jittery night and was rightly booked for scything down Evra, against whom he never looked comfortable.

6 Carles Puyol

Having missed the first leg through suspension, he made a solid clearance from Ronaldo’s header in the first half. He was kept on his toes by Tévez and looked shattered as he trudged off at the end.

6 Gabriel Milito

Looked susceptible whenever United attacked at pace, but did not make many mistakes. Ronaldo and Tévez constantly had him on high alert and he was not overly commanding whenever crosses came in.

6 Eric Abidal

Had his work cut out against Park and got a telling head to a cross by Ronaldo in the second half. Must have expected to have the freedom with which to roam forward, but his duties were mainly defensive.

5 Yaya Touré

Impressive at the Nou Camp but far less assertive last night and it was his poor positioning that opened up the space from which Scholes scored. Would have missed the final anyway after being booked.

5 Xavi Hernández

Dictated the tempo in Barcelona but struggled to impose himself for most of the evening and was overshadowed for long periods by Carrick and Scholes. Not a night to remember for the Spaniard.

6 Deco

Looked the most dangerous of Barcelona’s front players, with the exception of Messi, and went close with a few free kicks, but it was a frustrating night for the Portuguese, who could not impose his usual authority.

7 Lionel Messi

Barcelona’s one ray of light and comfortably their best player. Whenever the Argentinian got the ball United appeared vulnerable. Demanded a good save from Van der Sar in the first half and was tricky throughout.

4 Samuel Eto’o

The Cameroon striker was on the fringes for most of the match, well marshalled by Brown and Ferdinand. He is not the player he was and the quickest he moved all night was in response to being substituted.

4 Andrés Iniesta

Inspired at the Nou Camp, largely insipid last night. Hargreaves never gave the Spaniard a look-in and it was no surprise to see him hauled off for Henry on the hour as Barcelona tried to attack United’s right flank.

Substitutes

Thierry Henry (for Iniesta, 61min) Might have snatched an equaliser with a bullet header from a corner in the 79th minute 5 , Bojan Krkic (for Eto’o, 72), Eidur Gudjohnsen (for Touré, 89)